Latest news with #KenyanLiterature
The Independent
6 days ago
- General
- The Independent
Kenyans mourn African literature giant Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o
In a bookstore in Kenya's capital, the proprietor arranged a shelf exclusively carrying books by Kenyan author Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, who died Wednesday in the United States. Bennet Mbata, who has sold African literature at the Nuria Bookstore for more than 30 years in the capital, Nairobi, said he enjoyed reading Ngũgĩ's writing and is sad 'he'll never write again.' Kenya President William Ruto on Thursday paid tribute to the man he called 'the towering giant of Kenyan letters,' saying Ngũgĩ's courage shaped thoughts around social justice and abuse of political power. 'His patriotism is undeniable, and even those who disagree with him will admit that Prof Thiong'o's discourse always sprang forth from a deep and earnest quest for truth and understanding, devoid of malice, hatred or contempt,' Ruto wrote on X. Following Ngũgĩ's death at 87 in Bedford, Georgia, Kenyans are reminiscing about the days his literature criticized an autocratic administration, which led to his arrest and imprisonment in the 1970s. Macharia Munene, a professor of history and international relations at United States International University-Africa in Nairobi, told The Associated Press on Thursday that Ngũgĩ's writing was 'hard hitting' but also a 'true reflection of society.' Munene said he regrets Thiong'o didn't receive the Nobel Prize for Literature despite several nominations. Munene described the author as one of the few African writers whose writing was different. 'He wrote English like an African, another gift that very few people have,' Munene said, noting that Ngũgĩ later transitioned to only writing in his native Kikuyu language. Munene urged current writers to be 'true to themselves' and write from their hearts, but cautioned there may be some 'hard consequences like was the case for Ngũgĩ.' Ngũgĩ lived in exile for decades and escaped attempted assassination twice following his criticism of President Daniel Moi's administration in the 1970s and 1980s. Current Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga sent condolences to the author's family, saying 'a giant African has fallen.' The author's son and fellow writer, Mukoma Wa Ngũgĩ, posted a tribute on X: 'I am me because of him in so many ways, as his child, scholar and writer.' At Ngũgĩ's Kenyan home in Kamirithu, in Kiambu county in the outskirts of Nairobi, workers were seen trimming fences and clearing bushes in preparation for mourners and visitors alike. Fellow Kenyan writer David Maillu, 85, told the AP that Ngũgĩ 'touched the hearts of the people' by writing about the 'cultural destruction' that took place during colonization. Born in 1938, Ngũgĩ's first books told the story of British colonial rule and the uprising by Mau Mau freedom fighters. Since the 1970s, Ngũgĩ' mostly lived in exile overseas, emigrating to England and eventually settling in California, where he was a Distinguished Professor of English and Comparative Literature at the University of California, Irvine.
Associated Press
6 days ago
- General
- Associated Press
Kenyans mourn African literature giant Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — In a bookstore in Kenya's capital, the proprietor arranged a shelf exclusively carrying books by Kenyan author Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, who died Wednesday in the United States. Nuria Bookstore owner Bennet Mbata, who has sold African literature for more than 30 years in the capital, Nairobi, said he enjoyed reading Ngũgĩ's writing and is sad 'he'll never write again.' Kenya President William Ruto on Thursday paid tribute to the man he called 'the towering giant of Kenyan letters,' saying Ngũgĩ's courage shaped thoughts around social justice and abuse of political power. 'His patriotism is undeniable, and even those who disagree with him will admit that Prof Thiong'o's discourse always sprang forth from a deep and earnest quest for truth and understanding, devoid of malice, hatred or contempt,' Ruto wrote on X. Following Ngũgĩ's death at 87 in Bedford, Georgia, Kenyans are reminiscing about the days his literature criticized an autocratic administration and was arrested and imprisoned in the 1970s. Macharia Munene, a professor of history and international relations at United States International University-Africa in Nairobi, told The Associated Press on Thursday that Ngũgĩ's writing was 'hard hitting' but also a 'true reflection of the society.' Munene said he regrets Thiong'o didn't receive the Nobel Prize for Literature despite several nominations. Munene described the author as one of the few African writers whose writing was different. 'He wrote English like an African, another gift that very few people have,' Munene said, noting that Ngũgĩ later transitioned to only writing in his native Kikuyu language. Munene urged current writers to be 'true to themselves' and write from their hearts, but cautioned there may be some 'hard consequences like was the case for Ngũgĩ.' Ngũgĩ lived in exile for decades and escaped attempted assassination twice following his criticism of President Daniel Moi's administration in the 1970s and 1980s. Current Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga sent condolences to the author's family, saying 'a giant African has fallen.' The author's son and fellow writer, Mukoma Wa Ngũgĩ, posted a tribute on X: 'I am me because of him in so many ways, as his child, scholar and writer.' Born in 1938, Ngũgĩ's first books told the story of British colonial rule and the uprising by Mau Mau freedom fighters. Since the 1970s, Ngũgĩ' mostly lived in exile overseas, emigrating to England and eventually settling in California, where he was a Distinguished Professor of English and Comparative Literature at the University of California, Irvine.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Ngugi wa Thiong'o, Kenyan author who reckoned with colonial legacy, dies at 87
By George Obulutsa NAIROBI (Reuters) -Celebrated Kenyan novelist and playwright Ngugi wa Thiong'o, whose sharp criticisms of post-independence elites led to his jailing and two decade in exile, has died at the age of 87, Kenya's president said. Shaped by an adolescence where he witnessed the armed Mau Mau struggle for independence from Britain, Thiong'o took aim in his writings at colonial rule and the Kenyan elites who inherited many of its privileges. He was arrested in December 1977 and detained for a year without charge in a maximum security prison after peasants and workers performed his play "Ngaahika Ndeenda" (I Will Marry When I Want). Angered by the play's criticism of inequalities in Kenyan society, the authorities sent three truckloads of police to raze the theatre, Thiong'o later said. He went into exile in 1982 after he said he learned of plans by President Daniel arap Moi's security services to arrest and kill him. He went on to become a professor of English and comparative literature at the University of California-Irvine. 'INDELIBLE IMPACT' Thiong'o ended his exile in 2004 after Moi left office following more than two decades in power marked by widespread arrests, killings and torture of political opponents. Kenya's current president, William Ruto, paid tribute to Thiong'o after his death in the U.S. following reports of a struggle with ill health in recent years. "The towering giant of Kenyan letters has put down his pen for the final time," Ruto said on his X account. "Always courageous, he made an indelible impact on how we think about our independence, social justice as well as the uses and abuses of political and economic power." Although Thiong'o said upon returning to Kenya in 2004 that he bore no grudge against Moi, he told Reuters in an interview three years later that Kenyans should not forget the abuses of the era. "The consequences of 22 years of dictatorship are going to be with us for a long time and I don't like to see us returning to that period," he said. Thiong'o's best-known works included his debut novel "Weep Not Child", which chronicled the Mau Mau struggle and "Devil on the Cross", which he wrote on toilet paper while in prison. In the 1980s, he abandoned English to write in his mother tongue Gikuyu, saying he was bidding farewell to the imported language of Kenya's former colonial master. (Writing by George Obulutsa; Editing by Aaron Ross)
Reuters
6 days ago
- General
- Reuters
Ngugi wa Thiong'o, Kenyan author who reckoned with colonial legacy, dies at 87
NAIROBI, May 29 (Reuters) - Celebrated Kenyan novelist and playwright Ngugi wa Thiong'o, whose sharp criticisms of post-independence elites led to his jailing and two decade in exile, has died at the age of 87, Kenya's president said. Shaped by an adolescence where he witnessed the armed Mau Mau struggle for independence from Britain, Thiong'o took aim in his writings at colonial rule and the Kenyan elites who inherited many of its privileges. He was arrested in December 1977 and detained for a year without charge in a maximum security prison after peasants and workers performed his play "Ngaahika Ndeenda" (I Will Marry When I Want). Angered by the play's criticism of inequalities in Kenyan society, the authorities sent three truckloads of police to raze the theatre, Thiong'o later said. He went into exile in 1982 after he said he learned of plans by President Daniel arap Moi's security services to arrest and kill him. He went on to become a professor of English and comparative literature at the University of California-Irvine. Thiong'o ended his exile in 2004 after Moi left office following more than two decades in power marked by widespread arrests, killings and torture of political opponents. Kenya's current president, William Ruto, paid tribute to Thiong'o after his death in the U.S. following reports of a struggle with ill health in recent years. "The towering giant of Kenyan letters has put down his pen for the final time," Ruto said on his X account. "Always courageous, he made an indelible impact on how we think about our independence, social justice as well as the uses and abuses of political and economic power." Although Thiong'o said upon returning to Kenya in 2004 that he bore no grudge against Moi, he told Reuters in an interview three years later that Kenyans should not forget the abuses of the era. "The consequences of 22 years of dictatorship are going to be with us for a long time and I don't like to see us returning to that period," he said. Thiong'o's best-known works included his debut novel "Weep Not Child", which chronicled the Mau Mau struggle and "Devil on the Cross", which he wrote on toilet paper while in prison. In the 1980s, he abandoned English to write in his mother tongue Gikuyu, saying he was bidding farewell to the imported language of Kenya's former colonial master.
